‘OpenMac': A Poor Man’s Macintosh That Possibly Violates Apple’s EULA

In a move that’s sure to get the attention of Apple’s lawyers, one company has started advertising a new $400 hackintosh dubbed the "OpenMac." Mind you, it’s not the desktop’s name that’s likely to cause trouble, but rather the fact that Psystar (the company selling the machine) is claiming it will ship with a fully compatible version of Leopard.

This is apparently accomplished with the help of an EFI emulator and a few drivers.

Says Psystar:

With the EFI V8 emulator it is possible to install Leopard’s kernel straight from the DVD that you purchased at the Apple store barring the addition of a few drivers to ensure that everything boots and runs smoothly.

Now, it’s clear the company is trying to market the OpenMac as a cheaper, more expandable alternative to a real Mac, which is great. But Apple’s End User License Agreement is pretty clear about where its OS can appear: That would be Apple-branded hardware exclusively. And while it’s one thing to do a little tinkering on your own, I suppose it’s quite another for a company to do it for you — and potentially make a profit off of it.

Note: Psystar is at least making people pay for certified copies of Leopard.